Bridges retiring as county health director

Saturday

Sep 28, 2013 at 3:00 AM

Tom Bridges has worked in public health for a long time, and he's seen a lot in his 38 years as a public servant.

By JOEY MILLWOODTimes-News Staff Writer

Tom Bridges has worked in public health for a long time, and he's seen a lot in his 38 years as a public servant. On Dec. 1, Bridges will retire as Henderson County's health director — a title he's held since 1998. Looking back, this wasn't where Bridges thought he'd end up. He started out in an anatomy graduate program in Mississippi with the goal of being an anatomist. A trip to North Carolina, however, changed that. “I sort of discovered public health by accident,” he said.Bridges discovered the campuses at Duke and North Carolina and came to the realization that he didn't want to be an anatomist. Instead, on a whim he packed up and moved to Chapel Hill with no job prospects or living arrangements. That was in 1973. He finally landed a job at Memorial Hospital in the hematology lab. After that, he landed a job in as a research assistant at UNC in the School of Public Health. And that's when the direction of his career took a sharp right. Bridges enrolled in a graduate program at the School of Public Health and finished up in 1978. His first job in public health was in New Bern. He spent the next 20 years building up a career in protecting the health of the general public. “Things just kind of came together,” he said.Bridges took the director's job in Henderson County in 1998 and came into what he called “a strong situation.”Since coming to the county, Bridges has worked hard at building coalitions. He dove head-first into the Partnership for Health. He's been an active participant in WNC Health Impact, a coalition of regional health departments. The biggest thing accomplished during this tenure, however, was the construction of the new health complex. With former county manager David Nicholson leading the way, the health department went from the tiny, cramped quarters on one side of Spartanburg Highway to a complex on the other side. “That was an amazing thing,” Bridges said. More importantly, he has focused on training middle management on the workings of the department's budget, and how to understand the ways in which everything connects. He's trained staff to understand their budget and the allocation of their resources, and has involved them in any decisions that had to be made.“It not only makes my job easier, but it helps the programs serve the people better,” Bridges said of his approach. “I see public health as a form of ministry.” County Manager Steve Wyatt sees those strengths in Bridges and acknowledges that he's going to be hard to replace. “He's made a difference in the community,” Wyatt said. “He's done a fantastic job for the people of Henderson County. Tom Bridges is a fine man outside of being a great health director.” In the end, however, public health is about one thing — something Bridges is passionate about.“It's the people,” he said. “It really is the people. This is like a family.”Reach Millwood at 828-694-7881 or at joey.millwood@blueridgenow.com.